Worst Case Scenario

John Tyler, first VP to succeed to Presidency. April 4, 1841.

Here I go playing devil’s advocate again. In a worst case scenario, God forbid, and for some reason the President can’t serve – illness, death, removal from office, or resignation – who would you rather succeed to the Presidency,

Sarah Palin

Joe Biden

Now before you say it can’t happen, here are the facts. It has happened before and it will happen again. So far there have been 45 Presidents (44 if you count Grover Cleveland only once).

Vice President John Tyler (photo) became the first to gain office on the death of a president. President William Henry Harrison died on April 4, 1841 after only one month in office.

Eight times the Vice President has become President on the death of a President. Once a Vice President (Gerald Ford) became President when one resigned (President Richard Nixon).

I am amazed at the apparent lack of importance placed on selection of running mates. Wake up candidates, delegates, and electorate – these individuals are truly a heartbeat or a breath away from gaining the most powerful office in the United States.

There is no doubt in my mind Joe Biden is ready and capable of being President. Sarah Palin is hardly ready to be a Representative or a Senator let alone President.

This has nothing to do with her party affiliation, her personally, or her sex. She is just plain unprepared. Palin lacks the life experience, the governing experience, and the foreign policy experience.

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7 Responses to Worst Case Scenario

Joe Biden has been ready so many times it’s not even funny. That’s the problem. Nobody ever wanted him before except the people in his district, so why would they want him now? Just staying in Washington a long time doesn’t make you ready to lead anymore than getting old makes you wise. I would prefer Sarah to the Dems Presidential Candidate based on qualifications. That makes it a no brainer even given your worst case scenario. Not real comforting is it? Pappy

Steve,
I’m with you on this point. It’s hard to believe McCain would jump so quickly to chose a candidate so little known…unless there were an agenda. It seems to not be about Sarah Palin for him, but about stealing women voters who supported Hillary and making a “bold” move to revive his canidancy
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The Vice President spot is more important than most give it credit for and it would be foolish to overlook it, and very dangerous.

Steve, I am pleased to read in your comment that you can admire people from both sides- that’s a rarity given the strength of feeling toward particular parties.
It depends on the individual, at least for me. I sum up the candidate and determine their morals and background. If that fits what I look for, then so be it but I refuse to put a permanent label on myself regarding parties. It changes as often as the candidates change. Anything less would be an error on my part. All people are different.
Your ability to write a level-headed piece on particular individuals you like or dislike is commendable. All we need is some clear thinking and logic.

Butch I most certainly believe the no 1 spot is the most important, however, I’m just making the point that vice president is important also, more so than people realize.

Previous blog posts on my site have already addressed the presidential candidates. Historically I find the office of Vice President and the persons who have held it to be fascinating.

I’m not sure who you mean by “youse guys”. I am neither a Democrat or a Republican, nor can I vote in your elections, you see I am a very interested Canadian. In case you don’t know we are your friendly neighbor and ally. Our soldiers are dying almost every day in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban.

How can you say a senior Senator like Joe Biden who has served since 1972 and authored many pieces of significant legislation doesn’t have experience. Your Republican stripes are showing. By the way I was a fan of Ronald Reagan, who by the way picked a very experienced vice president, George H. Bush.

Thanks for your comments. They were most interesting. I assume that you would be happy with Sarah Palin as president should it be necessary.

Youse guys are too worried about the number 2 spot. Why do you not look at the “experience” of the guys running for the most important spot (President)? Truly, what is Barrack Obama’s experience? He was a “community organizer” and a member of the state legislature and then has around 170 days as a senator. That is it. Sarah Palin has far, FAR more executive experiecne than both Obama and Biden combined. But, I suspect you already know that.